Blades beat Flags 4-2, move back into second place

After blowing a 2-0 lead, and playing more than five minutes at the
start of the third period shorthanded, the Blenheim Blades managed a
4-2 victory over the Mooretown Flags Sunday night at the Blenheim
arena, and in the process climbed back into sole possession of second
place in the PJHL’s Stobbs Division.
The Blades now have 27 points, and a 13-5-1 record, and are a point
up on both the Wheatley Sharks and the Lakeshore Canadiens. Essex
leads the division with 34 points.
Next action for the Blades will be Thursday night when they travel
to Walpole Island to play the sixth-place Wild at 8 p.m., before
returning home Saturday for a 6 p.m. Alumni Night game with the
Dresden Kings.
Prior to the Blades/Kings game there will be two of alumni games –
the first at 3 p.m. and the second at 4.
A pair of first period goals, one by Brad McAlpine at 1:31, and a
second by Joey Hayter at 12:15, gave the Blades a 2-0 lead.
The goal for McAlpine was his eighth, while for Hayter it was his
fifth. Hayter assisted on McAlpine’s tally along with Breck Rainey,
with Rainey and Ryan Sanders setting up Hayter’s goal.
Mooretown’s Jake Dupuis cut the Blenheim lead to 2-1 at 15:52 of
the period, and then he tied things with his second of the night at
13:48 of the second period.
The third period started with Blenheim short one or two men for
five minutes and 37 seconds, but the penalty killers held Mooretown
off the scoresheet setting up Ethan Chittle’s unassisted game-winning
goal at 13:33. It was Chittle’s first marker as a Blade since coming to
Blenheim from Wheatley two weeks ago.

Team captain Craig Spence then iced the win with an empty net,
unassisted tally at 19:09.
Spence now has 14 goals on the season.
BLADES BITS: Jake Vancoillie was in net for the Blades and stopped
27 of 29 Mooretown shots…The Blades totaled 38 shots on
Mooretown netminder John Chartrand…Prior to the faceoff Blenheim
was missing leading scorer Tate Bowden, defencemen Matt Hayter
and Remi Steen and forward Beau Moison…Then veteran Darby
Lemieux left the game with an injury and did not come
back…Defenceman Carson Lippert played his first game with the
Blades as an AP callup…Prior to Saturday’s alumni game four
members of the Blenheim News Tribune staff will be inducted into the
Blades Hall of Fame…The games three stars were Hayter, the first,
Rainey, the second, and Vancoillie the third…Sunday’s ice sponsor was
Evergreen Financial Group Lt.